Nail-arranging device



(No Model.)

0. K. WEADJ. I NAIL ARRANGING DEVICE. No. 477,093. Patented June 14, 18 92 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES K. \VEAD, OF MALONE, NEWV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES \V. BROOKS, TRUSTEE, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

NAlL-ARRANGING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 477,093, dated June 14, 1892.

Application filed November 7. 1891. Serial No. 411,205. (No model.)

To all whom it 17mg concern.

Be it known that 1, CHARLES K. WEAD, of Malone, county of Franklin, State of New York, haveinvented an Improvement in Nail- Arranging Apparatus, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention has forits object toimprove and simplify mechanism for arranging nails for use in Various machines, sothat the points of the nails shall all be presented in a given direction. Considerable difficulty has been experienced in effecting this work, especially with nails tapered in one direction or on but two sides and Without heads. Some machines of the class referred to have contained rolls set at a slight distance apart to leave a space or slot between them for the entrance of the points of the nails, the latter being deposited upon the rolls from a suitable source, such as a hopper; but said rolls have, so far as I am aware, been rotated in opposite directions, and their adjacent surfaces have traveled in the same direction, they moving upwardly and outwardly. Rolls moving in opposite directions, as stated, act but imperfectly and tardily in partially r0- tating about their longitudinal centers or axes any nails which fall into the space between them with one of the tapering sides of the nail uppermost, for it will be understood that only those nails which lie in the space between the rolls with one of their parallel sides uppermost can tip into the said slots, so that the nails are suspended vertically in the slots, with the large or head ends uppermost. To aid these reversely-rotating rolls in turning the tapering nail over, as described, to put it into proper position to have its point drop between the rolls, said rolls have been provided with a longitudinal groove or score; but such construction is objectionable for the reason that the grooves when they come adjacent to each other effect a momentary widening of the space between the rolls, and at such time a nail with its tapering side up permost may drop into the space between the rolls and create disturbance, and to overcome this disturbance the rolls referred to have been mounted in yielding boxes,but yetwith imperfect results.

In my efforts to improve this class of apparatus and make it quickly responsive to right a nail which may drop in the space between the rolls with its tapering side uppermost I have devised an apparatus in which the rolls or supports, used in pairs or longitudinally side by side, are moved circularly, but both in the same direction, or moved so that their adjacent surfaces move in opposite directions, for I have discovered that when the said adjacent surfaces of the rolls or supports move in opposite directions, they then acting against opposite sides of the nail, the nail will be instantly turned, so that one of its parallel surfaces will come uppermost, thus leaving the nail in condition to enable its point end to drop below the center line of the rolls or supports, the nail being suspended in substantially vertical position between the rolls or supports.

My invention therefore consists in a nailarranging apparatus having combined with it a pair of independent circularly-moving rolls or supports and means to rotate the rolls in the same direction, whereby the adjacent surfaces of said rolls travel in opposite direc tions to act on and turn a nail about its longitudinal axis, substantially as will be described.

Other features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out, and claimed at the end of this specification.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a suflicient portion of a nail-arranging apparatus containing my improvements to enable my invention to be understood. Fig. 2 is a partial plan view thereof, the hopper and feeder being removed to better show the shape of the rolls or turning devices. Figs. 3, 4:, 5, and 6 are sections of the rolls, showing nails in diifen ent positions to be described. Fig. 7 is a modification of my invention; Fig. 8, a section in the line a Fig. 7.

The frame-work A, of suitable shape to sustain the working parts, has suitable bearings for the rolls or turning devices a b, above which is located a suitable hopper c and a suitable feeding device, herein shown as a brush (1.

The rolls a. b are separated sufficiently to enable the tapering point of a nail n, usually a headless nailhaving two sides parallel and two sides of wedge shape, to drop between them when the nail is in the proper position and leave the nail suspended in the space or slot between the said rolls, the heads orhead ends thereofbeing uppermost, and inasmuch as the rolls are somewhat inclined in the direction of their length the nails brought into upright position are gradually made to travel toward the lower ends of the rolls, said rolls at that point being somewhat tapered or grooved, as represented in Fig. 2, thus leaving sufficient space to permit a nail on its arrival at such point to drop vertically from between the rolls into a suitable chute or guideway e, which will lead the nail to any article or device in which the nail is to be set or in which nails are to be assembled. The roll a has an attached pinion a and the roll I) a pinion b. These pinions are herein represented as engaged by an intermediate pinion fon a short shaft 712, which in the form in which my invention is herein embodied in Figs. 1 and 2 has a pulley 72, driven by a suitable belt f, in turn driven from a pulley on some suitable shaft, as h driven at the desired speed.

The rolls, actuated as described, are moved, it will be seen, in the direction indicated by the arrows in Figs. 3 to 6 in the same direction; but the adjacent surfaces of the said rolls move, it will be evident, in opposite directions, so that a nail dropped in the space or slot between the rolls will by the action of the rolls against it at opposite sides rotate or turn the said roll about its longitudinal center.

The nails 01 herein shown are represented as headless, and the said nails are so shaped that they present two parallel sides or surfaces and two tapering sides or surfaces, all as usual. 7

If a nail falls upon the rolls in line with the space or slot referred to, with its tapering surface uppermost, then the point end of said nail will not drop 'down below a line intersecting the center of rotation of said rolls, (see Fig. 3;) but as soon as the nails are rotated one-fourth around, so as to bring one of the parallel sides thereof uppermost, then instantly the point end of the nail will drop, as represented in Fig. 5, and the nail will assume substantially upright position between said rolls, the point of the nail traveling below the nip of the said rolls or the plane of their axes.

The peculiar direction of movement given to the two rolls with relation to each other causes the nail to respond instantly to the action of the rolls and come into position with one of its parallel sides uppermost.

Instead of the circular movement of the rolls being continuous, it is obvious that the same result might be gained in quickly turn-. ing the nail if the rolls had a circular movement in one and then in an opposite direction,

I but simultaneously; but in whatever direction of their movement the surfaces of the rolls where they contact with the nail must travel in opposite directions, such movement of the rolls by whatever devices being of the gist of my invention.

In the construction Figs. 7 and 8 the rolls a Z) are represented as being actuated by a rack g, deriving its motion from a pin g oua disk or equivalentdevice g attached to a shaft g which may be rotated in any suitable manner, as by the belt f Represented in Fig. 1.) It is not intended, however, to limit this invention to the particular devices shown for imparting to the rolls a 1) their circular movements, so long as the said rolls are moved in the direction stated; nor is this invention limited to the speed of the rolls, nor to the rolls being driven at just the same speed.

This invention is not limited to the particular level at which the rolls stand, nor to their being inclined more or less.

To facilitate the discharge at one end of the rolls (see Fig. 1) of properly-lodged and ponding nails, I have provided a pusher it, having a suitable finger or end, which is projected into the space between the said rolls, the said pusher, as herein shown, deriving its movement from a suitable cam h on the shaft 71 Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, they show a nail n as improperly lodged, as its tapering sides are uppermost, so that the nail, looking down upon it, will appear to be of the same width from head to point. In Fig. 4, however, the nail is shown as turned partially around, and in practice as soon as it is turned one fourth around the point end of the nail will immediately drop into the position-shown in Fig. 5 or into the position represented by the second nail in Fig. 1.

The method herein practiced for turning nails is also of my invention.

This invention is not limited to the employment of but one pair of rolls, as I may employ any desired number of rolls.

In case the rolls are not rotated completely the shape of the rolls, or they may be called turners, in cross-section may be varied, it only being necessary to have the adjacent surfaces which act on the nails at the same time to turn them made in arcs of circles, or substantially so.

IIO

Having described my invention, what I claim as novel, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a nail-arranging apparatus, a pair of independent circularly-movin g rollsor turners and means to rotate said rolls in the same direction, whereby the adjacent surfaces of said rolls travel in opposite directions to act on and turn a nail about its longitudinal axis, substantially as described.

2. In a nail-arranging apparatus, a pair of independentcircularly-moving rolls or turners and means to rotate said rolls in the same direction, whereby the adjacent surfaces of said rolls travel in opposite directions to act on circularly-moving rolls or tu rn ers, theadjacent surfaces of which travel in opposite directions to act on and turn a nail about its longitudinal axis, combined with a pusher to aid in discharging the nails from between the rolls, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CHARLES K. WEAD.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. GREGORY, EMMA J. BENNETT. 

